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Why Antibody Tests Won’t Help You Much

Sat, 2020-08-22 15:30 — mike kraft

Getting an antibody test to see if you had Covid-19 months ago is pointless, according to guidelines issued this week by a major medical society.

Many tests are inaccurate, some look for the wrong antibodies and even the right antibodies fade away, said experts at the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which issued the new guidelines.

Because current tests cannot determine if someone is immune, the society said, they “cannot inform decisions to discontinue physical distancing or lessen the use of personal protective equipment.”

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Difficulties with clinical trials.

Sat, 2020-08-22 12:00 — mike kraft

'Give me the real stuff': What's taking COVID-19 clinical trials so long? "We were told to get this answer as fast as we possibly can," one researcher said. YahooNews

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., it remains unclear whether two of the most promising treatments actually work.

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New Ebola outbreak in Congo raises alarm

Fri, 2020-08-21 21:47 — mike kraft

New Ebola outbreak in Congo raises alarm A new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has infected 100 people in a western province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a rapid spread that has health officials concerned about the chances of Reid Wilson TheHill

A new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has infected 100 people in a western province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a rapid spread that has health officials concerned about the chances of an uncontrolled epidemic.

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

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How Feds Decide On Remdesivir Shipments To States Remains Mysterious

Fri, 2020-08-21 11:06 — mike kraft

By the second week in July, COVID-19 cases in North Carolina were climbing fast.

With nearly 19,000 diagnoses over the previous two weeks, only five states recorded more new coronavirus cases than North Carolina did.

"Today is our highest day of hospitalizations and our second-highest day of cases," Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced on July 9, standing behind a podium in the state's Emergency Operations Center. "Please continue to treat the virus like the deadly threat that it is."

One of the few treatment options for patients seriously ill with COVID-19 is the antiviral drug remdesivir. Authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in May for emergency use in the pandemic, remdesivir is in short supply. The federal government has taken on the responsibility for deciding where vials of the medicine should go.

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Silent spreaders' of COVID-19: Kids who seem healthy may be more contagious than sick adults, study says

Fri, 2020-08-21 09:59 — mike kraft

'Silent spreaders' of COVID-19: Kids who seem healthy may be more contagious than sick adults, study says Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General Hospital for Children found seemingly 'healthy' kids had more virus than sick adults. Adrianna Rodriguez USA TODAY

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Near Misses at UNC Chapel Hill’s High-Security Lab Illustrate Risk of Accidents With Coronaviruses

Thu, 2020-08-20 20:23 — mike kraft

Near Misses at UNC Chapel Hill’s High-Security Lab Illustrate Risk of Accidents With Coronaviruses Reports indicate UNC researchers were potentially exposed to lab-created coronaviruses in several incidents since 2015. These incidents highlight the risks even in the most secure and respected… Alison Young,Jessica Blake ProPublica

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Coronavirus Doctors Battle Another Scourge: Misinformation

Thu, 2020-08-20 11:39 — mike kraft

Doctors on the front lines of the global pandemic say they are fighting not just the coronavirus, but also increasingly combating a never-ending scourge of misinformation about the disease that is hurting patients.

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Controversy over Australian PM's vaccine comments points to disputes over vaccinations

Thu, 2020-08-20 11:10 — mike kraft

Controversy over Australian PM's vaccine comments points to the next coronavirus nightmare With one comment, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison managed to turn a positive coronavirus story into a public relations disaster, and highlighted the potential next nightmare of the pandemic: a fight over vaccines. Analysis by James Griffiths, CNN CNN

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Millions of women lose contraceptives, abortions in COVID-19

Wed, 2020-08-19 21:10 — mike kraft

Millions of women lose contraceptives, abortions in COVID-19 NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of women and girls globally have lost access to contraceptives and abortion services because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now the first widespread measure of the toll... AP NEWS

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of women and girls globally have lost access to contraceptives and abortion services because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now the first widespread measure of the toll says India with its abrupt, months-long lockdown has been hit especially hard.